Dear Editor,
A friend of mine who recently migrated to the United States informed me of a situation that exposes the ineptitude of one of our primary governmental offices.
She went to do her driver’s test but was told that she couldn’t do it because Guyana still has the ‘red book’ licence registered on the website and she is the holder of the new Guyanese, driver’s licence card. The issuance of the new licence to Guyanese, dates back at least a few years. It reflects badly on Guyana that in this age of technology and the Internet that up to now we have not shown that there was this change in our drivers’ licences. It is also a costly and time-consuming challenge for our fellow Guyanese who have to take a driver’s test in the US and most likely, any other country. My friend was faced with the unnecessary costs of using Uber taxis to get to and from the location for the test, only to encounter that dilemma. She told me that other Caribbean and African countries have updated their websites to indicate changes they have made to their licences. She now has to get a letter from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) stating that the licence she has is the type now being issued in Guyana. With that letter she has to go to the Guyana Embassy in the US for them to verify and stamp it. What an avoidable waste of time, energy and money! Even those Guyanese on vacation abroad seeking a temporary licence, might be affected in a similar way.
I see it as being a quick and simple matter to have this information put on the GRA’s website. This situation affects not only on GRA’s office but puts another blemish on Guyana’s image overseas.
Yours faithfully,
Conrad Barrow
